Tag: technology

View All Tags

/ / / / / / /

Do Not Stow That iPad; Qantas' New Q-Streaming Starts Now

Where: Australia
January 27, 2012 at 11:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

What do you do when you find an Apple iPad in the seat-back pocket? Naturally, watch hours and hours of the newest television and movies. Duh.

This week, Qantas announced testing of their new in-flight entertainment system. We've already talked about the technology the Australian airline brings to cabins both domestically and internationally, and this news is an even more important cog in the wheel.

The fresh entertainment system is called Q Streaming, and it's being trialed on one aircraft at the moment. The technology allows passengers to stream, on demand, the entire portfolio of Qantas entertainment to an on-board iPad. Both business and economy customers can spend the majority of their flight with their eyes glued to the 10-inch screen.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

A Travel Ninja Trick to Squeeze More Minutes from In-Flight WiFi

January 12, 2012 at 11:33 AM | by | Comments (0)

We've got bad news, good news and awesome news.

The bad news: The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is wrapping up and will end tomorrow, January 13. That means no more fun gadget announcements and breathless product release liveblogs on your favorite tech news sites.

The good news: Thanks to CES, Ford teamed up with in-flight WiFi provider Gogo to offer a free 30 minutes of WiFi on flights heading into or out of Vegas during the CES dates. Sure, that means the free internet access from 35,000-feet comes to a halt tomorrow, but wait...

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Flying from Toronto to Chicago in a 737: Our First-Person Flight Sim Fun

Where: Australia
January 5, 2012 at 11:54 AM | by | Comment (1)

Since we do a good amount of flying, we've been lucky enough to enjoy seat 1A but also thankful enough just to be onboard in the last row of economy. Recently, this Jaunted writer had the opportunity to sit in an all totally new area of the plane (to us). No, I didn't get to travel in the cargo hold as luggage, instead I got to fly the plane.

Long gone are the days when children were escorted up to the cockpit for a view of the brains of the aircraft, a visit with the pilots, and, inevitably, a set of plastic wings. Since 2001, airlines no longer allow passengers access to the flight deck for obvious reasons, but the dream still exists for many.

Last month we told you all about the British Airways simulator gift card idea. Obviously, my family and friends were listening since I received a boarding pass (gift voucher) for a 60-minute flight simulator experience with a company called Flight Experience. As someone whose interests are primarily consumed by travel, I am always looking for a way to upgrade. Naturally I went ahead and upgraded myself from the 60 to the 90-minute simulation.

more ›

/ / / / /

Qantas and Virgin Australia Battle for Tech Supremacy

December 21, 2011 at 10:58 AM | by | Comments (0)

Lots of exciting techie news coming from Down Under! Australia seems to be the competitive hub for in-flight technology; this week Qantas dropped big news. They're doing WiFi on international flights. To America. On their Airbus A380! Yes, this is all correct, The flying kangaroo will be trialing their in-flight browsing service on flights between Australia and LA. Premium passengers flying on any one of the 6 A380s will be able to use their smart-phones, tablets or laptops to surf the web. Skype and Facetime are a no-no since the service will not have voice enabled 'pico-cells'.

Passengers in both first and business class will have to purchase the web browsing, but no prices have been announced. We have to say, however, that for a 15-hour flight we're more than happy to fork over our cards and while away the hours doing something other than playing Angry Birds. Let the WiFi wars begin!

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Happy Happy Joy Joy: More In-Flight WiFi for More Airlines

December 15, 2011 at 11:11 AM | by | Comments (0)

Two huge bits of in-flight entertainment news dropped this week. Let's sum 'em up:

· Emirates A380s join the In-Flight WiFi bandwagon

Guess the airline with the largest amount of orders for Airbus A380. It's Emirates. Guess the airline with the largest amount of the superjumbo already flying the skies. Again, it's Emirates. Guess the airline that's already got in-flight WiFi on most those babies. Duh, Emirates. Still, the news that passengers may pay up and log on during A380 Emirates flights came in 2010 with the projected log-in date June 2012. They've arrived at their goal a whole seven months early!

The service is OnAir, the same long-haul WiFi provider for Oman Air, TAM, Singapore and more. Pricing begins at $7.50 and is arranged in service bundles of MB. And yes, even First Class will have to pay.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / /

Tap, Tap, Tap and You're All Checked In on Qantas

Where: Australia
December 13, 2011 at 10:49 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last year, Qantas changed the feel of the airport experience with their Next-Generation check-in. Thanks to the introduction of towers—each around 5' tall—where you check in with a simple swipe of a membership card, passengers in Qantas domestic terminals are having an overall quieter, less-hectic experience. There's not even the need for a boarding pass, since the bar code on the frequent flyer card is the paperless replacement.

When launched, we told you The Red Kangaroo was on the forefront of this technology, trialing in a few cities around Australia before introducing it, practically, across the entire domestic system in 2010. Ticket counters have been replaced with traditional kiosks for those who do not have a smart-chip card, but the number of towers outnumber the kiosks. We have had the chance to use this innovation and think it's pretty amazing, not only because of the technology but also for its efficiency and massive help on cutting down the time from airport door to plane door.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Google Maps Ventures into the Final Frontier: Airports

November 30, 2011 at 3:20 PM | by | Comments (0)

Having more or less mapped the world's roadways—up to and including getting the security hyper-conscious Israelis to let their guards down—the Google Maps kids have taken to sending their cars and tricycles to increasingly esoteric destinations.

They've mapped bike routes and jungle trails, which are natural extensions of roadway mapping, but they've also extended their maps into our beloved San Diego Zoo and the insides of Japanese businesses—neither of which are particularly intuitive additions.

One area into which Google had yet to expand was the inside of airports. The oversight was particularly notable because, in sharp contrast, Microsoft's Bing search engine had added airport maps a few months ago. Bing's maps launched with support for 42 national airports, and included locations for restaurants, ATMs, ticket counters, restrooms, and so on. The implementation was not only pretty slick, but it was something that Google Maps just didn't have. So guess what Google just announced as the newest feature for Google Maps.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Wolfram Alpha, Airplane Stalker.

November 22, 2011 at 12:07 PM | by | Comment (1)

Okay, this is awesome. Go to WolframAlpha.com (a site that's like Google if Google was a huge science dork), and search "flights overhead." Yes, just those words. Now sit back for a millisecond until WolframAlpha returns with a list of the flights currently overheard you at that very moment.

This is the hottest little time waster on the internet today, and we may just stay addicted to it throughout the holidays. There's no need to live near an airport, either, as WolframAlpha picks up on planes cruising up above as well as ones coming in for a landing.

Our results—as we're currently in the triangle formed by JFK, LGA and EWR—returned an AirBerlin flight en route from Düsseldorf to Fort Myers, FL. It's crazy to think that a website can let us know that there's a couple hundred Germans directly overheard, each of them dreaming of the Florida sunshine they'll enjoy in under three hours.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Ryanair Now Giving Interviews on Mountain Goats and Porn

November 9, 2011 at 4:42 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you were going to do a chart of all the obnoxious ways that Irish LCC Ryanair tries to get media attention, first of all it would be an awkwardly large chart. Second, it would have to cover - at a minimum - the ads that are tasteless, the ads that are sexist, the ads that are sexist and tasteless. Then you would have to cover their heavy-handed intentionally sensational "news" announcements, which usually revolve around things they're never going to do and almost always involve bodily fluids. So bathroom fees and toilets, mostly.

Sex and pee pee. That's what their PR people usually bring to the table. And now, a new bodily fluid to add the chart: semen! How innovative. How risque.

more ›

/ / / / /

Free WiFi Scheduled to Arrive in London This Week, More to Follow in 2012

November 9, 2011 at 12:48 PM | by | Comments (0)

London is the best when it comes to all kinds of stuff, but the city is unfortunately not too great when it comes to finding free WiFi. It just really hasn’t made the push for large hotspots or other all-encompassing connection options, but that might be changing soon. This is especially good for those visiting from abroad, because those overseas roaming charges—especially for data—can quickly ruin your travel buzz.

It sounds like Nokia and the city are working on a plan to bring hotspots to several popular areas around the city. In total there are plans to bring WiFi to 12 different spots including places like Oxford Street, Sloane Square and beyond. The first installations will be part of a pilot plan, but eventually the goal is to expand elsewhere.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / /

You Get an iPad, and You Get an iPad...

Where: Australia
November 9, 2011 at 8:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

...it's like being on The Oprah show when she gives away her favorite things.

Back in early 2010, we brought you the story of iPads being launched as in-flight entertainment options; it just took a while for plans to come to fruition. This week, our friends "down under" at Jetstar actually came through and rolled out new in-flight entertainment options. The LCC is now offering passengers in all cabins the option to rent an iPad on flights from Oz to New Zealand, plus other short-haul internationals. Eventual roll-out across the whole domestic network is in the works.

This is the first time iPads have been offered in the short-haul economy cabin and, frankly, this really makes us super giddy. The rental cost of $10-15 AUD (depending on flight duration) isn't too bad either, considering the entertainment options. Each device is preloaded with TV shows, new release movies and music with a line-up of the hottest games *ahem Angry Birds*, e-mags and e-books.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

United and Continental Finally Get Their Act Together for In-Flight WiFi

November 7, 2011 at 9:07 AM | by | Comments (2)


Yes, that's a 787 Dreamliner with WiFi

In-flight tech envy has ended for those who fly United and Continental. Hooray! Just days ago, United announced that more than 300 of its aircraft will be outfitted with in-flight WiFi capabilities, starting rather soon in mid-2012; that's just in time for the summer travel season.

Partnering with Panasonic to make both domestic and international WiFi a reality, United will first connect up their Airbus narrow-body fleet—319s and 320s—eventually finishing on the rest of the Boeing fleet by 2015.

more ›

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (Revised 08/01/2011). © Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast Digital.
Ad Choices